ok so i just got a free 175 gallon tank with a stand from my brother... i thought snake but really wanted to know what it took to start a salt water tank ....i just need to know a few things... what type of filtration system i will need and how often do you clean the tanks? and the live rocks... how many will i need? also if there are any fish i cant put together? is there an algae eater like in freshwater or just the attack packs? any assistance would be greatly appreciated! thanks for reading!

Saltwater is a fun and interesting hobby that is fairly easy to master with proper research.

Before we go any further, I must ask.....what's your expected budget?

MetalArm3[/QUOTE

we are just getting our feet wet per se and my wife asked what should we plan to budget... we have only owned freshwater fish a while ago

Ok, well as you may know saltwater isn't the cheapest endeavor to go on, but is very rewarding.Ill list a couple of basic items and prices below.

Live Rock- Average around $5 a pound. The basic rule use a 1.25lbs per gallon of water.
Live Sand- depending on shallow or deep sand bed, but you can figure around 1lbs per gallon.
at about $1 per pound (but varies on type and place)
Lighting-does it come with lighting? If not I would go wih LEDs, around $600 for that size tank but
then you don't have to purchase an expensive chiller or replace bulbs.
Heater-???? I never purchased one for that size tank
Salt- $70 for a 50lbs bucket
AutoTopOff system- highly recommend- elos makes a good one around $200
Aquarium Controller- also highly recommended, digital aquatics make a number of them starting
out at $200
Refractometer-$50
Protein Skimmer- like the heater, you must reasearch
Powerhead- Cheapest would be maybe a $100 for two hydors

#1-Dry Rock, there are a few hitchhikers on Live Rock that people want to stay away from, so they opt for using Dry Rock, or Dead Rock. Macro Rock is a good place to start looking for that. Either way you go you will need a minimum of 1lb per gallon#2-Replacement filter media like filter floss and activated carbon (if you get a filter) Which is really not necessary.#3-Multiple Power heads (2 or 3) 10x your water volume for just a Fish Only With Live Rock, and at least 20x your water volume for a Reef Tank. So lets say your going reef, and you have a 100g tank, you would need flow in that tank at minimum of 2000gph, or 2 1000gph power heads.#4-Protein Skimmer, rated at 2 times your water volume#5-Saltwater Test Kits. Reef Test Kit. Test for Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, PH, Phosphates, Calcium, ALK and Magnesium.#6-Saltwater fish food. Mysis Shrimp, Squid, Cyclopease, Algae Sheets, Romaine . Flake food is not really a good food to feed your marine fish.#7-Aquarium vacuum. This one is iffy. Most don't use one, if you have enough flow in the tank you won’t need one#8-Rubber kitchen gloves#9-Fish net#10-Two, clean, never used before, 5-gallon buckets#11-Aquarium thermometer, digital being the best.#12-Brush with plastic bristles (old tooth brush) - needed for cleaning the live rock if you don't get Fully Cured Live Rock.#13-Power Strip, possibly GFCI outlets by the tank.#14-Optional but definitely recommend getting a Reverse Osmosis or RO/Deionization filter for the make-up water, and a barrel for storing the water.#15-Possibly a Quarantine Tank for your new fish. They sit in here for a few weeks to kill off parasites and bacteria, to keep it from getting in your main tank#16-Heater rated for your size tank.#17-Saltwater Mix. Marine Salt. Instant Ocean is the cheap Salt that beginners and Advanced use alike.#18-Saltwater Hydrometer or even better a Refractometer, which is more accurate. There is also a Digital Meter that is way advanced if you have the cash.#19-Aquarium filter (not absolutely necessary if running with adequate amounts of live rock, but nice to have if you need to use a mechanical filter or activated carbon, or GFO and such)#20-Aquarium substrate such as live sand or crushed coral. Some go bare Bottom, others choose the 2-3" bottom, others, more advanced will try the Deep Sand Bed, which is over 6" deep.

I would like to say however if you go with live sand and live rock your cycling time well be greatly reduced. I bought "real reef" LR from live aquaria and couldn't be happier. It is a man made rock (synthetic) that is guaranteed to no contain hitch hikers. And the added benefit is that it doesn't harm our natural oceans by creating demand.Posted via Mobile Device